The Vitals: the spot: Midnight Shift 1610 Broadway St, Lubbock, TX 79401 the eats: NY Strip Steak, Burgers, Charcuterie the bucks: $$$ the full nelson: pricey comfort food for the upscale tourist or the trendy Lubbock local

I really like Lubbock TX. I guess you could say I was just surprised that this blip on a map had some respectable dining options. When we drove through Lubbock on the way to ski the slopes of New Mexico, I experienced a meal at the West Table that I would easily return to again and again, price of gas be damned. It wasn't a life changing meal per se, just a remarkable find for a small city like Lubbock. The restaurant knows they are setting the bar high and take pride in doing it in a market where they don't have to. Midnight Shift doesn't hit those notes but it is a bit cheaper(by a hair) and pretty friendly by design. It's more a bar lounge with a decent menu. The safe bet would be to stick to burgers but I was feeling more like a bourbon and a steak that night.

Old Fashioned anyone?

I love these cocktails. Some bourbon plus simple syrup, some bitters and an orange peel make for a cocktail with a punch. Especially in the hands of an experienced bartender. Like the service at Midnight Shift, the bartender lacked experience but the drink went down well enough. I guess I just really like whiskey.

You get what you pay for

Even though my gut said keep it basic, I reached for the stars and got a NY Strip steak. This cut was my first steak crush growing up. I love ribeyes and skirt plus other lesser known cuts like flap meat but you don't find those out often. I tend to criticize getting a steak when it comes to bang for your buck because it's pricey and I can flip a steak with the best of them. But you know what? This steak did the trick. And the well roasted brussel sprouts topped with a heavy hand of parmesan and the sweet potato terrine were decent sides. If I made them at home I would pat myself on the back. At the end of the day, splurging for the steak probably left me more impressed with Midnight Shift. I just didn't think they would be doing anything game changing. So why not let a good cut of beef and some whiskey bring a smile to my face? Midnight Shift might be named so because when it's late you take what you can get. That's the case here. It's not horrible but better options don't exactly pop up that frequently when you're covering this many checkboxes in Lubbock TX. It's a hotel restaurant and while some hotel restaurants snag celebrity chefs, they are by design mean to be crowd pleasing and convenient to a weary traveler. And for one craving a steak and a whiskey on his way back to Austin, Midnight shift was certainly both pleasing and convenient.  

The Vitals: the spot: El Naranjo 2712 S. Lamar Blvd Austin TX 78704 the eats: Duck Mole, Cochinita Pibil, Octopus & Potato, cocktails and Mexican Wine the bucks: $$$ the full nelson:  Regional Mexican cooking that tows the line between rustic and sophisticated well with a cost to match

Back in April I visited El Naranjo in Austin TX. The Oaxacan restaurant had been on my list for sometime. First off, I'm always ready to try regionally specific cooking of any country. Oaxaca isn't just any region though. Famed as the land of a thousand molés, there's more to the Southern Mexican state than the dark brown sauce that coats braised chicken and seared duck. First off there is more than one kind of mole and the dark brown stuff with hints of chocolate and cinnamon are the tip of the iceberg. In fact so is mole when it comes to Oaxacan cuisine. Before this becomes a deep dive into a state in Mexico that counts dozens of languages predating the Spanish conquest, a remarkable amount of microclimates and biodiversity and perhaps the country's most famous chef as a native son, let's just go into a picture driven play by play of what I ate at a restaurants whose chef eventually would win a James Beard award for Best Chef Texas this year. Yeah that was a mouthful, but so was this:

Tuna Ceviche to start

I'm always up for a taste of raw tuna to start a meal and I adore ceviche. I can't say this was the best dish I had that night nor was it among the better ceviches I have had in town. You could skip it but don't skip this.

SANGRE OAXAQUEÑA: a fine cocktail

Excuse the all caps but this drink deserves that say it loud effect. Mezcal, a liquer made from Ancho and Poblano peppers, hibiscus tea, and lime juice make for a drink you could drink all night. But I had other plans.

Skip the beer and margs . . .

You can get beer and margaritas at any Mexican restaurant with a liquor license. Take advantage of El Naranjo's Mexican wines like this Syrah blend from Baja California. Back when I lived in Los Angeles we would take excursions down to Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico's wine country which is also home to an incredible Mexican meets Mediterranean cuisine. I also got married at a winery down there so I can't not try a bottle. Think of this red as something closer to a Southern French red from the Rhone Valley. This is the kind of red wine that won't be the heaviest on its own but will pair very well with intense meats dishes like braised lamb and steaks cooked over charcoal. Or a seared duck breast in a molé . . . but I am getting ahead of myself.

My second fav dish of the night

Octopus is cooked in a sous vide and then sliced and tossed with diced roasted potatoes in a chili oil. My eyes rolled back in my head as I ate this. Octopus is butter when it's cooked till tender and that is a painstaking process. A sous vide is what you pay the big bucks for at a place like El Naranjo and it works. The chili oil reminded me of the separated layer of oil in a Bengali curry my aunties would make. This dish is a must order.

Tlayuda Oaxaquena

I'm not biased for blue corn but at times it is a sign of Nixtamalization which is corn made the right way. That means making tortillas the old fashioned way which is fast becoming extinct thanks to modern conveniences. Beyond altering corn production into a dark dystopian future, shelf stable tortillas taste like eating cardboard compared to the real deal, and drowning it with salsa is often how one makes it palatable. Not the worst fate but there's a better way to eat masa. What happens when you use heirloom corn and it's nixtamalized? The toast off the blue corn gives off a wonderful nutty aroma. The fiery salsa roja cuts through the beans and queso nicely. The only downside to this dish is that it is filling and does bring up an interesting point: menu labeling. Some plates are bigger than others and you can easily fill up if you happen to be a party of two. This Tlayuda could put a dent into you soaring through the menu. Luckily I had a dish to reinvigorate my appetite.

Cochinita Pibil

This rendition of the Yucatan classic wasn't like the stuff I've had down south but somehow I could not put it down. In Quintana Roo, which neighbors the Yucatan, I visited a woman who made Cochinita Pibil on Sundays. Her verison, served to me in a plastic bag which I took home and promptly devoured on bolillo rolls, was cooked underground and remains the gold standard. So why was I constantly nibbling on this despite an approach to total fullness? Great meals find a way I guess. This dish is a crowd pleaser and I would encourage you to order it, especially when dining as a group.

The Best Molé I have ever had

And of course it was with Molé Negro, what some consider the Holy Grail of Mexican cooking. While there are many moles of many different shades, Molé Negro is a blockbuster hit and for good reason. At El Naranjo, 30 different ingredients including almonds, pecans, peanuts and Oaxacan Chocolate combine forces for a most complex tasting experience. Chef Iliana de la Vega also sources a rare chile called Chilhuacle that grows in Oaxaca for this molé as well. Don't think of it as just spicy, this pepper also adds notes of cocoa, tobacco and dried fruit. Sounds like a wine description right? That should foreshadow how deeply complex this sauce tastes. Now I have had molé several times over the years but no dish hit quite like the one I had at El Naranjo. What made this so special? The right protein that deserved to be hoisted up with such a magnificent sauce. I became a fan of duck breast cooked medium to medium rare(yes you can do that) in my youth going to French restaurants. I'm a steak lover and duck seared like this is right up the steak lover's alley. Like an Au Poivre(French Peppercorn sauce), the right sauce makes a protein elegant beyond approach. I previously held this distinction for French dishes like steak au poivre. I now consider this molé as part of that cannon, maybe even the crown jewel. I could just come to El Naranjo and order this duck with a glass of Mexican red wine and be happy as can be. And I know that because even after I ordered this dish, I ordered more.

Gorditas de Chicharron

Underneath the shredded lettuce, crema and that dollop of pico de gallo lies two gorditas stuffed with chicharron. I was two full for the thick masa discs stuffed with fried pork skin so I'd advise ordering them early on and know that they will fill you up unless you are part of a big group. And that's probably the only issue I had a El Naranjo, there was too much to try and it's hard to experience it all with a small party. So plan multiple visits or bring a group. Just know that the duck mole will that dish that will mark your experience until you get to Oaxaca itself. Like Oaxaca, El Naranjo is a special place.

The Vitals: the spot: H3 Ranch 105 E. Exchange Ave Fort Worth TX 76164 the eats: Chicken Fried Steak the bucks: $19.99 the full nelson: affordable steak joint in the heart of the tourist friendly Fort Worth stockyards 

Back in March I was invited by my pal Trey Chapman of Trey's Chowdown to judge a burger competition down in the stockyards of Fort Worth. I was joined by Celebrity Chef John Tesar and Trey at the judges table. It was a day of eating but you know what? A picture is worth a thousand words so . . .

I swear I kept in under control

We judged these burgers like true professionals. A first round of judges eliminated 30+ burgers to just three. Then each were quartered up. The shocking truth? I walked out of a burger competition a touch hungry. So yes, after a burger competition I went hunting for Chicken Fried Steak.

Warning: H3 Ranch is temporarily closed but . . .

You can try out their food at Red Booger Saloon. The menu is the same and if you're on the Cheap Eats hunt like I was, you will wisely forgo the pricier steaks for the chicken fried steak. Priced at $19.95, the chicken fried steak comes in at half the price and includes sides. Now about that chicken fried steak . . .

Make it a meal

I skipped the fries and made it more of a meal with H3 Ranch's beans and corn on the cob. I liked the contrast of these sides vs grabbing a fistful of fries. Now a fact about chicken fried steak: great texture comes from a freshly pounded steak. The Country gravy wasn't half bad either. Mostly I loved that this meal fit the surroundings of the Fort Worth Stockyards and didn't break the bank. And it paired well with a bottle of cheap domestic beer; a whole other category of dining if you ask me.

My Question to you:

Have you ever had a game changing chicken fried steak? A version that makes you think twice about getting a proper steak, regardless of cost? Can't say that I have and yet I believe it's out there. Until I find that, a $20 version of H3 Ranch's Chicken Fried Steak and a couple longnecks of American Domestic will just have to do.

The Vitals: the spot: Mr. Beef on Orleans 666 N. Orleans St. Chicago Il 60654 the eats: Italian Beef  Combo, Italian Beef, dipped the bucks: $9 the full nelson: An Italian Beef located close to downtown, tourist adjacent and legit too

I love Italian Beefs. Whether it's Nottoli & Son which was featured on Cheap Eats Chicago, a late night run at Portillo's or the well regarded Johnnie's Beef in the west suburbs, Italian Beef's are the sandwich of Chicago. Cousin to the French Dip but with remarkably more flavor, Italian Beef's date back to when Italian Immigrants created wedding feasts called peanut weddings under modest circumstances(they were poor) by slow roasting beef, slicing it thin and serving it on bread with the flavorful seasoned au jus. Nowadays you can skip the peanut wedding and just pick a spot. Great Italian Beefs can be found all over Chicagoland.

Mr. Beef on Orleans

I happened to be staying in downtown Chicago while attending the James Beard Awards. Known as the Oscars of the food world, I was honored to be a member of the judging committee this year. I had a few hours to kill till my flight home and Mr. Beef was pretty close to me so I gave it a shot but also at the behest of hilarious food writer Dennis Lee of the Takeout. His office, which also includes The Onion, is a short stroll away. That can be pretty dangerous if you have the habit of gaining weight by reading menus.

Mr. Beef got fans

This is a montage of three walls worth of notable fans of Mr. Beef. I spoke with owner Joe Zucchero, who dished out a ton of goods when it comes to the history of Mr. Beef. Considered the baby of the block when compared to other Italian Beef joints, Mr. Beef opened in 1979. A few years later an up and coming comic named Jay Leno would visit. Joey took care of Jay and Jay said "when I make it, I'm gonna put you on the map". A review in the early 1980s gave Mr. Beef 4 stars across a myriad of factors including beef, bread, peppers and au jus. Celebs started to roll in and Mr. Beef on Orleans became a Chicago Italian Beef Institution.

Good prices and Pepsi= classic Italian Beef menu

Look, this ain't bad for 2022. One beef plus sharing an order of fries, or if you're feeling emboldened, cheese fries will do you right. I also tried a pizza puff too . . . when in Rome I guess. But really you are here for one thing and one thing only.

Italian Beef Combo Juicy

I went for it. Italian beef with Italian sausage and dipped in the gravy(au jus) plus hot peppers. Out the gate for the die hards, the hot giardiniera at Mr. Beef ain't that spicy. But it's made every week, got great crunch and does the job. The lack of heat is by design, Joe tells me. He wants you to taste the beef. Speaking of, he uses Sirloin Butts unlike some other places that use a cheaper cut. The sausage isn't necessary but it feels so over the top which speaks to a fine quality about Chicago dining: gluttony.

The gravy is the whole damn point

The gravy, which in actuality is more an au jus, is the whole damn point, and that goes for any good Italian beef in the city. At Mr Beef, when the sirloins first go into the 500 degree for an initial heat blast, it's actually unseasoned. After an hour and half of high temp then medium temp roasting, the seasoning comes in along with a pan with water to catch the drippings. That's where the flavor really builds so make sure to dip your sandwich in it by ordering it juicy.

The price of flavor: a beef grin

You will want a roll of paper towels handy but at the end of the day, you're here for an Italian Beef facial. Mr Beef used bread from Libiorio bakery and it holds its own despite taking a jacuzzi in the Italian Beef gravy. The price of indulgence is messy but worth it. If you are a Chicago native you no doubt have your favorites. Joe told me that "Italian Beefs are a very territorial thing". If you're a visitor like me, they are all worth trying. A good beef stand captures the soul of the city. And Mr. Beef's Beefs got a lot of soul.